The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Amaryllis plant, botanically known as Hippeastrum hybrid and referred to by the cultivar name Bahia.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to develop new Amaryllis cultivars with novel flower coloration patterns.
The new Amaryllis originated from a cross made by the Inventor in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., of a proprietary selection of the interspecific cross Hippeastrum pardinumxc3x97Hippeastrum papilio identified as code number H-8-14 (not patented), as the female, or seed, parent with the Hippeastrum hybrid cultivar White Christmas (not patented), as the male, or pollen, parent.
The cultivar Bahia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 1994. The selection of this new Amaryllis plant was based on its unique flower coloration pattern.
Plants of the new Amaryllis and plants of the female parent, the interspecific cross identified as H-8-14, differ in flower color and coloration pattern. In addition to flower color, plants of the new Amaryllis are more resistant to Red Scorch Fungus (Staganospora curtisii) and more high temperature tolerant than plants of the pure white-flowered male parent, the cultivar White Christmas.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by twin-scale cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has shown that the unique features of this new Amaryllis are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Bahia has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype. The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Bahiaxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Bahiaxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Flowers of plants of the new Amaryllis have an unique red and white picotee coloration pattern and appear luminous and crystalline.
2. Plants of the new Amaryllis are resistant to Red Scorch Fungus, Staganospora curtisii. 
3. Plants of the new Amaryllis have exhibited excellent high temperature tolerance.